Thrice Defied
by laurahonest
Summary: This is the story of how James and Lily defied Voldemort 3 times. Starts just before they start dating and goes up to the point they go into hiding. Rated for later chapters. R&R.
1. Prologue

Author: Laurahonest

Prologue

Post date: 6-1-06

Edited post date: 6-16-06

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other aspect of the series. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling. If you don't realize this maybe you should read the books before you read this.

Authors Note: The typos were irritating me.I had to fix them. Thank Bluejello for editing for me from here on out.

This is the story of James Potter and Lily Evans. This is not the whole story. We will not delve into the complexities of their whole story for that would take a very long time to tell.

James had finally deflated his head. He had matured and grown over the last two years. Lily had finally opened up her eyes and realized this about James. They had decided to give up their silly squabbling and attempt to become friends. Over the first term of their final year at Hogwarts they had gone from a tenuous truce to a full-fledged friendship. It was amazing really. They had stopped fighting soon after becoming Head-Boy and Head-Girl. The staff at Hogwarts was still getting used to the idea of the two as friends. They still jumped when they saw the two together in the hallways and rushed to break up a conflict, but there never was a conflict anymore.

Professor Dumbledore was not surprised in the least and was very glad that the two had become friends. Professor McGonagall was heard saying that Dumbledore should have forced them into a position of teamwork years ago. Professor Slughorn thought that they had become friends secretly the year before when he had begun pairing them in Potions. The other Professors kept their opinions to themselves, mostly content to watch and wait.

We will simply start at Christmas in 1977. James' parents had decided that, as his Christmas gift, they would open their home to all of his friends and their families. In early November they sent out invitations to all of James' close friends to visit for the two week Christmas break and join in the festivities.

Most of his friends immediately sent return owl to accept the invitation. Lily's parents sent the invitation to her and allowed her to make the decision.

James' parents sent him a list in the first week of December.

Accepted 

Sirius Black

Remus Lupin

Peter Pettigrew

Marlene McKinnon

Broderick Bode

Declined

Bertha Jorkins

Undecided

Lily Evans

Frank Longbottom

Alice Harper

James immediately went to each of the people whose names were in the undecided category and began an attempt to convince them that they should accept, because it just wouldn't be the same without them.


	2. Chapter 1 Persuasion

Author: Laurahonest

Chapter 1: Persuasion

Post date: 6-3-06

Edited Post date: 6-16-06

Disclaimer: I do not own anyhting you recognize. That all belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Authors Note: I had to fix the typos. They were irritaing me. Everyone thank Bluejello for editing this from here on out. Chapter 2 Letters is coming soon!

"Lily!"

Lily Evans was abruptly jarred out of her thoughts as her name was called again.

"Lily, wait up Lily." Lily turned around to see James Potter running up behind her. "Jeez Lily, you are hard to catch up with sometimes!" panted an out-of-breath James.

"I wasn't walking _that_ fast, James," Lily said as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, I had to weave my way through the other students, so I had to go twice as far as you did," rationalized James. "But that isn't why I chased you down, Lily."

Lily raised one eyebrow. "Oh, then why _were _you chasing me down and bowling over innocent first years?" she asked him.

"I knocked over a first year? Really? Who was it? I didn't even notice."

"I had gathered as much. You knocked over Henrietta Edgecomb. You know she has four younger siblings at home and her mother is pregnant again?"

"Yeah, the Edgecomb's are a big family. I don't see her in the hallway now. Did she already get up and leave? ... Wait a minute! I didn't really knock her over did I? You are just trying to distract me, aren't you?"

Lily laughed, "Darn, you saw through my scheme. You caught me; I was trying to distract you. I guess there is no fooling the great James Potter, is there?"

"No, Lily," smirked James, "there is no fooling me. Now quit trying to distract me!" Lily laughed again, but James pressed on to avoid being distracted by Lily's musical laughter and the mesmerizing way she tossed her vibrant red hair when she laughed. "My parents sent me a list of everyone who hasn't given an answer to my invitation. I was hurt to the very core when I saw that you hadn't accepted immediately," he joked. "I thought that our friendship may not have been as sincere as I had hoped. Then I realized that, of course you couldn't accept right away because that would make you look desperate, and we can have the Head-Girl looking desperate now, can we?"

"You guessed it. That is the real reason that I haven't accepted." Lily laughed again as James' jaw dropped. "No, silly, I am not sure that I want to spend Christmas without my parents. I just don't know if they would want to come. That, and Petunia is going to celebrate with her new _normal_ family, so I have my parents all to myself for the whole break."

"Oh, I understand," James mumbled almost under his breath, his mind was racing fast. "Hey, why don't you bring them with you, they were invited too? My parents won't mind and then you can come!"

"James, we wouldn't want-" started Lily.

"Nonsense," James interjected, "my parents would love to have some conversation with people a little nearer to their own ages. That way your parents can see a wizarding home and get to know your friends as well."

"I don't know James… Maybe, let me talk to my parents, and see if they want to come. They might have something planned, especially since it our first Petunia-free Christmas."

"Lily, really, my parents won't mind and my house is large enough. Please consider it. I would really like for you to come," James begged, with his trademark puppy-dog eyes and lopsided grin.

"I'll talk to them, James." promised Lily, "but I can't guarantee anything."

"I guess that is the best I will get for now, isn't it?" asked James resignedly.

"Yes, that is the best I can offer until I talk to my parents," Lily confirmed. "Would it help if I agreed to go owl them about it right now?"

"That would be great, Lily! Shall I escort you the common room so you can write it out?" James asked, as he offered Lily his arm.

Lily decided not to argue with him and took the offered arm. As they walked they talked about everything from quidditch to Voldemort's rising power. Lily realized that this was one of the perks of being James Potter's friend rather than his enemy. She had intelligent conversations with him instead of always being the victim of a prank or constantly being asked out. She thought that she could grow too really like this mature and intelligent side of James Potter.

All too soon they reached the common room, they weren't nearly done bashing the Slytherin Quidditch team yet, and Lily went upstairs to get her nice stationary, ink and a quill. When she came back downstairs she found James waiting by the stairs for her. He followed her to her favorite table by a window that overlooked the lake. When they got there he jumped to pull out her chair. When he had pushed it in for her he sat down across from Lily and waited.

"James, are you going to sit there and watch me write this letter?" Lilly asked hesitantly, wondering why she hadn't just written it in her room if this was going to be the case.

"No," James answered, "I am going to write a letter to my parents to. _Accio Parchment, Accio Quill!_ Lily, can I share your inkwell?" he asked, as his parchment and quill came and floated neatly to the table in front of him. James grinned roguishly at her look of exasperation as he continued, "Sometimes the inkwell hits someone and breaks when I summon it and of course the Head-Girl wouldn't want that, now would she?"

"Here, you can share my ink, James," she sighed as she pushed it to the middle of the table. "Now do you want me to write this letter or not? If you do, you may want to let me write it before I change my mind and give you a firm no!"

"Yes, Ma'am," James said, as he settled down to write his own letter. They wrote in silence for a while. Then James' best friend, Sirius Black, walked in. It didn't take him long to spot James and Lily writing away studiously at their table. When he saw that James was writing and there appeared to be open books on the table, Sirius immediately assumed the worst.

"Oi! Prongs!" he shouted, even though he was only about ten feet away. "You are dishonoring the Marauder name that you wear by studying! Only Remus is allowed to study. We shall have to sacrifice you to the giant squid to reclaim our lost honor," he claimed in a melodramatic manner.

"Padfoot, sit down and shut up! I am deeply offended that you accuse me of dishonoring the Marauder name without proof! I am writing a letter to my parents and I have no idea whose books these are. Maybe I should sacrifice _you to _the giant squid for making a baseless accusation against a fellow Marauder."

"Dear Prongs, I throw myself at your mercy and humbly beg pardon for my offenses," Sirius shouted as he threw himself prostrate on the floor at James feet. "Fair Maiden, I beshugph" he started to appeal to Lily, until she put her foot on his mouth.

"Hush, Sirius, before I allow James to feed you to the squid simply for interrupting the peace in which I was writing my letter," said Lily petulantly, yet with a wicked grin, probably at the face that he was making. Sirius had interrupted her with his shouting and caused her to lose her train of thought. Lily hated losing her train of thought when she was writing. That is why she usually wrote letters and essays locked in her room alone. Her roommates knew this pet peeve of hers and were very careful not to interrupt her thoughts. That was the best way to avoid any hexes being sent your direction.

Sirius nodded his head and Lily removed her foot. James and Lily went back to their letters. Sirius sat there for a while, but he quickly got bored with the two and wandered off to find Peter Pettigrew to see about doing something to the Slytherins. As he left he announced, "I'm going to find Wormtail, I haven't seen him in a while."

Lily and James finished their letters at the same time and went to the Owlry to mail them together. James again offered Lily his arm, which she again accepted. Lily's owl, Dianna, immediately came to her arm and waited patiently while the letter was tied to her foot. "Ok, Dianna, take this home to Mum and Dad," Lily told her and off she flew.

James was not having such an easy time. His owl Hector didn't want to wake up and carry a letter. Lily walked over to him and offered him an owl treat out of her bag and he immediately came down and let James tie on the letter. "You know where to go, Hector, and when you get back you can have more treats," James promised the now happy looking owl. Hector took off and flew out the window with a great beat of his wings.

James and Lily walked back down out of the owlry and realized that it was time for dinner. They walked off towards the Great Hall arm-in-arm again. It felt so natural that neither one noticed their position until they arrived at the hall and went in. Everyone stared and nudged their neighbors to make sure they weren't hallucinating. Lily stopped next to Alice and Marlene. James kept going until he found Sirius, Remus and Peter.

As soon as Lily sat down Marlene started into her. "Lily, what are you doing? Are you dating Potter?"

"No," Lily responded sounding puzzled, "why would you even ask such a thing?"

"Well" huffed Marlene, "it sure looks like it! You two were sitting all cozy together in the common room and then you both left, arms linked, and you were gone quite a while. Then you come in here arm-in-arm again. It looks funny, Lily!"

"He was hounding me about his invitation, so I agreed to write a letter to my parents. He had one to write as well so we wrote them together. We walked to the Owlry together then came here together. He was just being dramatic when he offered me his arm, so I took it. There is nothing going on! We are just friends, and barely even that," Lily explained.

Marlene sniffed, "Well, it didn't look all that platonic, but if you say so, then fine."

Alice just rolled her eyes and continued eating without comment.


	3. Chapter 2 Letters

Chapter 2: Letters

Author: Laurahonest

Post date: 6-28-06

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That is J.K. Rowling's honor.

Autor's Notes: Thank Bluejello for editing this.

Charles and Rose Evans were just sitting down to breakfast when Dianna swooped up and tapped on the window, followed closely by another owl. Rose walked over to the window, opened it up, and let the two owls in. Both owls stuck out their legs to have the letters removed. Rose took both letters off and set them down. The strange owl started to fly to the tree in the yard, but Rose called him back when she said, "Wait, let me get you a treat." Both owls hooted and settled down to wait while she found them. When they had finished their treats the strange owl flew out the window to the tree and settled in to wait; Dianna flew to her perch by the window and fell asleep. Rose took one letter and gave the other one to Charles. Both of them settled in to read their letters. Rose ripped open her letter and found that it was the one from Lily.

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_School is going well. My grades are good, but the classes are getting harder. It is easier than I thought it would be to work with James. He is nice and funny and we have even become friends. It is strange how well we get along when just last year we hated each other. Marlene says "Hi," she wants to come over this summer for a while. I will write about it more, later._

_I wondered how you felt about our invitation to visit the Potters over Christmas. James is a nice guy (I know, I actually admitted it) and most of my friends will be there. I wasn't sure if you had any ideas or plans for this year to celebrate. I know Petunia is celebrating with Vernon's family and would rather not see me. James has assured me that his parents would love to have "conversation with people nearer to their age" as he put it. I assume that means you. He also said that it would be interesting for you to see how a pureblood wizarding house works; I think he also meant me. It would be fun but if you have already made plans we can definitely stay home. Dianna is waiting for your answer._

_Love to both of you,_

_Lily_

The letter Charles opened was a little bit different.

_Dear Sir and Madam Evans:_

_I, James H. Potter, do humbly beg that you accept the invitation of Gerald and Selene Potter and come to visit us over the Christmas holidays. We would love to have the pleasure of your company for our festivities._

_I don't wish to spend two weeks out of your lovely daughter's sight. Your daughter doesn't know or has yet to accept the fact that I am madly in love with her. I am hoping to make my feelings known to her this Christmas. I assure you that I have your daughter's best intentions at heart in this matter, and I wish her only the best, with or without me. I seek your permission to ask Lily to become more than my friend. I love her and someday with your permission wish to marry her. Please come over this holiday so that I may ask your permission in person. I would like to get to know you and allow you to become acquainted with me._

_Sincerely, _

_James H. Potter_

_P.S. The owl's name is Hector; he won't come unless you call him by name._

Charles set the letter down, rubbed his eyes, picked it back up and reread it. It still said exactly the same thing, so he wasn't imagining this. He set the letter back down and rubbed his forehead with a sigh. Rose looked at him with concern and asked "What is it, Charles?"

"It seems our Lily has a suitor," he said with another sigh, "A mister James H. Potter wants our permission to pursue Lily."

"James H. Potter," said Rose, "that sounds familiar. Isn't he the one whose house we have been invited to for this Christmas?" Rose picked up the letter from Lily and reread it.

"Yes," sighed Charles, "it is, he is also the Headboy this year. I like him better than Vernon already. He at least asked permission. I think that we should go and meet this boy before we give permission or deny it."

"Well, let's send Lily a letter and tell her to accept the invitation for all of us. You send him a letter telling him we are withholding judgment until we have met him. Let me read his letter while you read hers," said Rose as she handed Charles the letter from his youngest daughter. They each settled in to read the new letter. When she had finished reading James' letter she sighed and tried to gather her thoughts. "Well," she said after a long pause, "he has either been raised writing formal letters, or he is being pretentious. I would say that he was raised to it judging by the formality of the invitation from his parents. Let's definitely meet him before we make a decision. I'll write the letter to Lily and tell her to accept. You write him back and nicely tell him that we are withholding a decision until we meet him. Be sure and tell him that we respect him for asking our permission before pursuing her." Rose bustled around looking for pens and the parchment that Lily left for them to use.

When she had found some she set a piece down for each of them and they settled in to write their letters. Silence reigned the kitchen for a while. Both owls had fallen asleep while they waited for the replies they had been ordered to get.

Twenty minutes later, Rose sighed and started to reread her letter to Lily.

_Dearest Lily,_

_Your father and I think that it would be very fun and informative to stay for the Holidays with the Potter family. We would like for you to send an acceptance letter to them. The invitation was very formal, be sure and make your acceptance letter formal as well; it would be rude to send a casual acceptance to a formal invitation. Be sure and inquire as to how your parents are to arrive as we can't floo or apparate. Also be sure and ask James if we will need anything special to wear, bathing suits, formal wear, you know what I mean. We need to be prepared, it would be embarrassing to have to borrow things from our hosts. _

_We will put some extra money into your Gringotts account so that you can get presents for all of the children who will be attending. We will get presents for all of the adults. Make sure you send us a list of all the people who will be there so we are sure not to miss anyone. If you need anything be sure to owl us. Behave and do well on your school work. _

_Love you lots,_

_Mum_

Charles, not having to give motherly advice, finished his letter much sooner and was now reading the paper. Rose reached over for the letter to James and read it.

_James H. Potter_

_We thank you for asking our permission before pursuing our daughter. It shows us your sincerity and respect for our authority. We are going to ask you to hold off on your suit until we have met you over the Christmas holidays. We have instructed Lily to accept your parent's invitation. She should be sending her acceptance letter to your parents in a few days. After we have met I will give you a definite answer._

_Until Christmas,_

_Charles R. Evans_

Rose was satisfied with both letters. She tied them up and called to the owls. Both flew over immediately and she tied the letters on their legs. She double-checked that the right letter was tied to the right owl then told them to take the letters to their masters. She turned back to Charles and said "I hope we are doing the right thing here Charles."

"Rose, we are going to her friend's house for Christmas. We are meeting a boy that likes our daughter and we might give him permission to court her. If she doesn't like him, she will tell him so. Our daughter is a big girl now," said Charles reassuringly.

That evening Lily and James were sitting in the common room doing homework when they were interrupted by owls tapping on the window. Lily opened the window and let the owls in. Dianna settled on her shoulder while she untied the letter, then she flew off to sleep in the owlry. Lily opened up her letter and read, a small smile on her face. When she was done she looked up to see James watching her. Well, she thought, I might as well ask him all of the questions mum wants me to right now.

"James," she said, "my parents want to come for Christmas."

"That's great, Lily" said James.

"Yes they want me to ask you some questions. Can you answer them for me now?" she asked.

"Fire away," said James.

"Do we need to bring any specific clothes?"

"You will need to bring a bathing suit and a masquerade gown," he answered.

"Ok, is there a specific theme to the masquerade ball?" was her next question.

"The theme is famous deceased witches and wizards," answered James.

"How are my parents going to get there?" she questioned, "They can't use floo powder and they can't apparate."

"Have them meet you at King's Cross like normal. We will all drive to my house together, it isn't very far. I will have to ride with you. Muggles can't get onto our grounds without a member of the family with them while they pass through the gate," explained James.

"Ok, that makes sense, I guess. Last question," Lily promised as she grabbed quill and a spare piece of parchment, "Who all is coming? I need to know every person that will be there or mum will kill me."

"Jeez, Lily," whined James, "I thought we were almost done when you said last question."

"Come on, James," Lily prompted, "the sooner you start the sooner you will be done."

"Ok," sighed James. "Me, my parents Gerald and Selene, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Peter's mum Anne, Marlene, Frank, Alice, Broderick and his parents Susan and David, you, your parents, Topsy, Wheezy, and Fang."

"You didn't have to name the pets, James," laughed Lily.

"Fang is our dog, but Topsy and Wheezy are the houselves," James smirked. "Oh yeah, and Uncle Reese and Aunt Arabella. She is a squib, but we love her and she loves cats. If you want to make her love you forever, get her a cat."

"Is that everyone?" Lily asked as she scribbled 'get her a cat' next to Aunt Arabella's name on her list.

"Yeah, that is everyone unless we have some party crashers. The Masquerade Ball will have more people but those are the only ones that will be there for Christmas," said James.

"Thanks, James, that should satisfy them. Do we have a Hogsmead weekend between now and Christmas?" Lily wondered out loud.

"Yes, it is in a week," said James.

"Oh yeah, we planned that two weeks ago didn't we?" Lily said, rather embarrassed that she had forgotten. "The Masquerade Ball is famous deceased witches and wizards?"

"Yes, it is," said James.

"I'll have to get my parents costumes too then," said Lily. "Pity Professor Binns never teaches about anything besides Giant wars and Goblin rebellions. Thanks James, I'm off to the Library," Lily finished as she left the room.

James watched her leave with a smile then bent to reread the letter he had received. He was certain that after New Year's he would have permission to date Lily. Her dad would like him, he just knew it; most adults did. After he had permission came the task of changing Lily's mind about him. That was the hardest part but he was already half-way there by getting her to be his friend. That had been incredibly hard. Sirius, Remus, and Peter hadn't thought that he would get that far. Well, Remus had thought that if he did like she asked and stopped being so cocky that he might stand a better chance. He had proved them wrong once and he would do it again. Sirius and Peter still thought that he would never get Lily Evans to date him. He would date Lily and maybe someday he would marry her as well.

In the library Lily was busy trying to write a formal acceptance letter. This was harder than she had thought it would be. She was determined to get it right. She threw one more piece of crumpled parchment in the trash before she went to ask Madam Pince for help. Madam Pince knew the perfect book for Lily to use; it was called _Proper Letters: a Guide to Formal Letter Writing. _Lily settled back in at her table and flipped through the book until she found the entry on formal acceptance letters. She grabbed a quill and started to write.

_Dear Sir and Madam: _

_It is my honor to accept your gracious invitation on behalf of myself and my parents Charles and Rose Evans. We will meet you at King's Cross Station on December 18 at 4 p.m. as specified by James H. Potter. I humbly thank you for inviting us to visit you home. _

_Sincerely,_

_Lily M. Evans_

Satisfied with her letter, Lily copied it over to her fine parchment and walked to the owlry to send it to the Potters.


	4. Chapter 3 Hogsmead

Chapter 3 Hogsmead

Author: Laurahonest

Post Date: 7-14-06

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything relating to the Series. J.K. Rowling is just nice enough to let me play with her masterpiece.

Authors notes: Thank Bluejello for editing this with out her it would be full of errors.

The day of the Hogsmead trip dawned cold and crisp. It was supposed to snow that afternoon and Lily hoped that it would. She loved snow. When she was little Petunia used to come into her room and get her up to go play in the fresh snow. She always felt close to Petunia when she played in the snow. Lily woke up early and got ready quickly, then she ran outside and waited for the snow to fall. When it hadn't started to fall by the time breakfast was served in the Great Hall she gave up and went inside to eat. After breakfast she and the other seventh year Gryffindors met up in the entryway, ready to go to the village.

When they finally arrived they went straight to The Three Broomsticks for a butter beer to warm up with. As they sat there sipping their drinks they discussed their plans for the day. Lily and Alice still had to get their costumes for the New Year's Eve Masquerade ball. The Marauders wanted to go to Zonko's and Marlene and Lily wanted to go to the new bookshop.

When they were done with their drinks the girls and Frank left and went to Gladrags Wizardwear to see what they could find. Lily and Alice tried on various costumes and showed them to their audience. Lily made her decision first, then picked out costumes for her parents while Alice continued to try on costumes. When Alice finally chose they went to Honeydukes for candy for themselves and they got some as gifts as well. Lily got a bag of Pepper Imps for James, Acid Pops for Sirius, and some of the new Ice Mice for Remus. She had a harder time finding something silly for Peter and ended up getting him some Chocolate Frogs. After about a half an hour Lily dragged the others out of the store. Frank ran back in for a box of fudge for his parents and some Cockroach Clusters for his brother.

Next they went to Zonko's for a few practical joke gifts. Lily thought that a few dungbombs would be perfect for Sirius. Peter was going to get a Nose-biting Teacup. A quill charmed to write only insults about the writer would make Remus laugh. She decided not to get James anything from there. She had bigger plans for him. If only she knew what.

Marlene was ready to go to the bookshop, so that was their next destination. When they got there Lily saw a cage in the window, curious she paused to look closer. Inside the large cage were books. They were walking around and biting each other. The books were titled _The Monster Book of Monsters_. Lily walked over to the cage and realized that this would be perfect for James. Lily got a tranquilized copy of the new book for James. While wandering around the shop, Lily found a copy of the book that had saved her letter to the Potters, _Proper Letters: a Guide to Formal Letter Writing _and a book titled _The Encyclopedia of Famous Witches and Wizards of the Last 20 Centuries._ That would help Mum and Dad learn about the witch and wizard they were going to the ball dressed as.

After all of this they were cold and hungry, so they went back to The Three Broomsticks for lunch and another butter beer. When they walked in the others were still there so they went and joined them. "Still here?" questioned Lily sweetly. "I am surprised that Madam Rosemerta could put up with you for so long."

"We just got back," defended James.

"Then why are you still in the same seat we left you in?" Marlene challenged the four boys.

"The table was open and it has a good view," Sirius replied hotly.

"Would Madam Rosemerta back you your story if we asked her?" Lily asked impishly.

"Of course she would Lily, we are men of our word," said Remus.

"Or they have bought her silence," put in Alice.

"As Remus said, we are men of honor," offered Peter. "We wouldn't dream of bribing Madam Rosemerta."

"Not to mention that it would never work," laughed Madam Rosemerta as she came to take their orders. "What would you like to eat today, girls?"

All three girls ordered fish and chips. The boys all said that sounded great and ordered the same thing. James treated to a round of butter beers and they all sat there and chatted while they sipped their butter beers and waited for their food. When Madam Rosemerta brought their food the boys ate like they hadn't eaten in a week. The girls just laughed and ate their food at a much slower pace. When everyone was done and had paid for their food they all got up and left together. For the next hour or so they wandered aimlessly around the village. Alice suggested that they head back to the castle before it started snowing.

They had only made it about halfway back the snow started falling rapidly. Lily squealed when James dropped a handful of snow down her collar. She did a quick shrinking charm on her bags and zipped them into her pocket to keep them safe. Then she pulled on her mittens and grabbed some snow. James wasn't paying attention and her first snowball hit him right in the face. James grabbed another handful of snow and threw it at Lily. He missed spectacularly and hit Alice square in the chest. That was all it took for everyone to shrink their bags and grab handfuls of snow. They automatically broke off into teams of Marauders vs. the girls and Frank, because how could he throw snowballs at his fiancée, Alice? The snow flew fast and furious for about an hour. Then it started to get dark. Everyone decided to call it quits and head in for dinner.

They tromped in rosy-cheeked and snow-covered on their way to the dorms. Up in the dorms everyone undid the charms on their bags and changed into dry clothes. They all met in the commonroom on their way down to dinner and went together. After dinner Frank and Alice sat on a couch in the commonroom and made plans for their wedding. James challenged Lily to a game of Wizard's chess, while Remus and Marlene played chess on another set. Sirius and Peter tried out a new game they had gotten in the village that day called Exploding Snap. After their evening of games and more idle chatter they finally called it a night and went to bed. Tomorrow was Sunday and they had all put off their homework for the next week until then.

Authors Notes: This is mostly filler but I promise Christmas is coming soon. Review pleaseI can't tell if you like it if your don't review it.


	5. Chap 4 Sirius' Early Christmas Present

Author: Laurahonest

Chapter 4: Sirius' Early Christmas Present

Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling and I do not own anything you recognize. She is just nice enough to let amatuers like me play with her story and characters.

Post Date: 8-18-06

Authors Notes: Sorry about the delay. Life is hectic but you all know that. Thank Bluejello for editing. Without her you may never have gotten this chapter. I had trouble with it and it took both of us to get it fixed.

The last week of classes flew by, and the professors piled on the homework for the break. Before they knew it, the week was over and everyone was packing to go home or to friend's home for the holidays. All of the seventh year Gryffindors were packed and waiting in the Great Hall for the carriages. When the carriages came they rushed out and clambered in for the ride to the train. All nine of them crowded into one compartment for the ride to King's Cross; they were eager to start the holiday. They spent the trip talking and catching up. The last week of the term had been very busy, so most of them felt like they hadn't seen their friends in ages. The ride was peaceful until just after the food trolley went by. Severus Snape and Regulus Black appeared about ten minutes after the witch left. Regulus shoved open the door and stomped into the compartment. Severus followed quietly and the two of them started annoying the Gryffidors.

"What's wrong, Potter?" sneered Snape. "Do you have to have your mudblood bodyguard with you everywhere you go?"

"Snivellus, I don't need a body guard. Twenty points from Slytherin for use of that foul word," replied James, completely unfazed.

"Oh! Big man, Potter," taunted Regulus, "hiding behind your badge now."

"Regulus, the moment your input is needed is the day hell freezes over," Sirius snapped as he stood up. Marlene and Lily pulled him back down.

"Sirius, you have sunk to new lows, letting women push you around. You should cut off that hand that the mudblood ruined. Here, allow me," Regulus smirked as he pulled out a long and evil looking knife.

"Regulus, put that away!" hissed Snape. "You are going to get us in trouble."

"That is enough," Lily and Remus said together. "You two leave now and go back to your own compartment before I give you both a detention," finished Lily.

"We will leave, but only to avoid a nasty scene. We aren't scared of you, Mudblood," spat Snape as he turned and stormed out.

Regulus started to follow, paused, and turned back. "Oh, big brother," he said sweetly. "Here is your Christmas present from dearest Mum and Dad." He handed Sirius a stack of parchment and left, slamming the door behind him.

Sirius silently read through the papers. When he was done he jumped up and punched the air. "Bloody hell!" he yelled, "I am finally free of them."

James grabbed the stack of papers and read through them. "They disowned you, Padfoot?"

"Yes, and about time too!" was the jubilant reply, "I was ready to take them the papers to sign myself. I should send them a thank you note. Anyone got a piece of parchment and a quill?"

Lily silently handed him parchment, quill and ink, and Sirius settled in to write his letter. James lent him Hector to send the letter to his former family. Lily knew about Sirius' family and she was happy that he was so pleased about this. He passed back her quill and ink and grinned at her. "This calls for celebration," he declared happily, "Prongs, what is planned for tonight?"

"I am not sure, Padfoot, but I think we can find a way to celebrate" he replied with a smile.

"Great! I am glad they did this now," said Sirius. "It saves me the trouble of checking their gifts for explosives. Oh, but now I won't have all of those mean things to anonymously send to Regulus and Snivellus. The ones not full of explosives were so much fun to send to them, just to see their reaction. Regulus thought he had a secret admirer for months after last Christmas. I guess it is worth it though. Your parents will be willing to celebrate this won't they? Wait, what am I saying? Of course they will. They have wanted this for a long time too. James what can we do to celebrate?"

"Sirius, you are babbling," said Marlene.

"Well, I am excited, I can't help it," he defended himself.

"Try to help it, or I will put a silencing spell on you," replied Marlene with a menacing glare.

This threat kept him in check for about twenty minutes. The others enjoyed the brief reprieve. After that he just couldn't contain himself any longer. "I wonder whose idea it was to finally kick me out of the family. I bet Regulus planted the idea so he could be the family heir, evil little bastard that he is. I am going to go hex him," he said as he stood up.

"No!" yelled Lily, Remus, Marlene, Alice and Peter. James jumped up to restrain him and Frank and Broderick leapt to block the door.

"Okay, I won't hex him. Can I jinx him?"

"No" they all said together.

"Okay fine! I'll leave him alone, at least until after break. Sit down, Prongs. I'll be good. Frank and Broderick you can sit too. I won't try to escape. What on earth can I do to him when we get back? Hmmm... How about turn his hair pink? Turn him into a goat? Bat-Boogey hex? Hang naked baby pictures of him in the Great Hall?"

"_Silencio"_ said Marlene, "I warned you, Sirius."

Sirius silently pleaded with everyone in the compartment to undo the charm. They all looked away in refusal. Finally he grabbed Lily's roll of parchment and quill and started writing. She looked over his shoulder and saw that he was making a list of hexes and pranks to use on Regulus.

Talk died down and the occupants of the compartment started to fall asleep. Sirius and Marlene were the last two awake. Marlene undid the charm and they talked quietly for a while before Marlene turned the conversation serious.

"Is your whole family like your brother?" asked Marlene.

"Yes, almost everyone is obsessed with pure-blood and dark magic. My Uncle Alphard wasn't and, fortunately, Andromeda isn't. They have been disowned too and blasted off the family tree," he replied bitterly.

"Oh," she said. Marlene paused and appeared to be having an internal argument with herself. Finally she spoke up, and Sirius understood her hesitation. "Mine isn't quite that bad but they are pureblood fanatics and into dark magic. They force me to live and work with the house elves when I am at home. They wouldn't disown me though, I don't think. They enjoy the free labor and humor of it all too much. Not to mention the gossip it would create."

"Well," Sirius said softly, "If they do disown or kick you out, you can come stay with me. I have a two bedroom flat in London. Uncle Alphard left me all of his money when he died last summer. That may be why they disowned me. They know I won't give it to them to control, and that just pushes their buttons. They love having control, having power. Probably why they are such big fans of Voldemort. You are welcome at my flat any time. They don't have to kick you out for you to come stay. I ran away long before this. You can even paint the room pink if you want to, but the pink stays there!"

"That is sweet, Sirius" she said with a catch in her throat. "I don't think that it will get that bad, but if it does I will come find you. Thanks Sirius, I guess after seeing how happy you were to be disowned I thought you might understand. Lily doesn't even know all of this."

"Hey, don't worry, Marlene," comforted Sirius, "I don't think that any family can possibly be as evil as mine. Except maybe the Malfoy's but they are pure evil anyways. You should tell Lily though, she will want to help you any way she can. She cares about you Marlene and probably has already figured out more than you think. James knew a lot of my problems before I told him. Talk to Lily." Sirius paused there while Marlene thought about what he had said. "Now, how about a game of chess?" he changed the subject as he pulled out his chess set.

"Sure," she answered with a wicked grin, "get ready to be beaten."

With that they settled into a game. When they arrived at King's Cross the others woke up to find them completely engrossed. Sirius had won a game and Marlene had won a game. Now they were going for the tie-breaking game. The train lurched as it pulled into the station and the pieces went flying.

"No!" howled Sirius, "I was so close to winning."

"No, you weren't," cut in Marlene, "I was kicking your arse!"

"Not true" yelled an indignant Sirius, "I was winning."

"Let's settle this when we get to James': best two out of three," challenged Marlene.

"You're on," agreed Sirius.

With that final comment they all gathered their things and got off the train to start their vacation.

Authors Note 2: Next chapter...they finally make it to the Potter's home. Sorry for the seriousness but hey this isn't a fluffy story with no point. It is important to the plot. Thank you to eveyone who is reading and please review and let me know what you think. I can't fis what you don't like if you don't tell me about it. Laurahonest


	6. Chapter 5 Potter Manor

Chapter 5 Potter Manor

Author: Laurahonest

Post Date: 9-04-2006

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything related to Harry Potter. That honor belongs to J.K. Rowling and she is nice enough to let me play with her creation.

Author's Note: Thank Bluejello for editing this. Without her help it would be full of my poor grammar. Sorry this one is so short. I thought you guys needed a good cliffie. We are going under the assumption that most of our characters are 17 and able to do magic outside of school since they are in their final year at Hogwart's.

James walked with Lily to meet her parents and carry her trunk for her. After all of the introductions were made Mr. Potter and James worked their way back over to the Evans' family.

"Mr. Evans," said Gerald Potter, "James here will have to ride with you to our home. The wards on the gates don't allow non-magic people on to the grounds unless a Potter is with them. It protects muggles from accidentally finding out about wizards or getting hurt by magical plants or animals. This is just a precaution we take to avoid having to call the Obliviators to modify memories."

"All right," said Charles, "James can ride with us. This will be good anyways, just in case we get separated in traffic. Now we have our own personal guide to your home."

"All right, Merrymakers. Let's get to the party. I'll lead the way," Mr. Potter called out. Everyone moved off towards thier cars.

James climbed in the back seat of the Evans' car with Lily and they all drove off towards the Potter residence following Gerald Potter. James played tour guide and filled them in on local and family history as they drove. He cracked jokes and told humorous stories the whole way and before they knew it they were pulling up to a set of massive gates. At first all they could see was the gates; they looked rusted and old. Not at all impressive or inviting. Charles and Rose had a sudden, odd sensation that they had forgotten something. The feeling passed quickly and they forgot all about it. As soon as they passed through the gates, the manor appeared right in front of them. All three of the Evans' gasped at the sight of the house. A huge mansion stood out against the rolling green lawns. A large center section reached up three stories high. Two large wings stretched out to the right and left of the center section. The sun was setting behind the house as they pulled up it was a beautiful sunset. '_Oh God_' thought Lily '_it is huge. I'll never be able to find my way around. James family is really rich, I'll never fit in._' Out loud she said, "Oh my! What a gorgeous house and Mum look at the flower beds. James, what do you use to keep everything so green even in the winter?"

"You'll have to ask Mum, she does it," laughed James. "She normally lets some snow fall for Christmas though. There must be something planned for the lawns tonight or tomorrow. Pull up here, Mr. Evans. The car will be taken to the garage for you." James flicked his wand and all of their bags and trunks disappeared. "Your bags are in your rooms," he continued as he leapt out of the car to get the door for Mrs. Evans. "Welcome to Potter Manor" he said as he offered his hand to help Rose out of the car. "Right this way," he led once Mr. Evans helped Lily out of the car. They walked toward the doors where everyone was waiting. Mr. Evans looked back to see his car moving slowly toward the garage with no apparent driver.

Charles tapped James on the shoulder and said, "I'll trade you" as he offered Lily's hand to James and reached for his wife. They quickly switched. Gerald welcomed them into his home graciously as a house elf took all of their coats and cloaks. James was sent to show the teens to their rooms while Gerald led the adults to theirs. The adults were in the right or North wing and the teens were in the left or South wing. James showed each of the teens to their rooms. On the west side of the building were the boys, except for Peter; he was on the east side with the girls. Their rooms faced each other across the hallway.

Everyone was happy with their own room. Lily loved having the eastern view. She enjoyed watching the sun rise each morning. When they were all done inspecting each others rooms they changed out of their travelling clothes and met back in the hallway. James led everyone down to the dining room for dinner. The dining room earned another collective gasp of awe from everyone at the sheer splendor and beauty of it. The room was very fancy. Everywhere Lily looked there was crystal and floating candles making it sparkle and shine. The adults walked in just after them and Mrs. Potter called everyone to the table where they all found their place cards. James, Sirius and Frank pulled out chairs for Lily, Marlene and Alice, then seated themselves. Everyone talked quietly while they enjoyed the wonderful food prepared by the house elves. When everyone had eaten their fill they moved to the living room for coffee.

The teens decided to go play a quick game of quidditch. They didn't use the snitch for fear of losing it in the dark and no bludgers; they blended into the gloom too well, and no one wanted to get hurt. They decided that the first team to score five goals would be the winners. They split up into teams of four with Broderick as the referee. Sirius, Marlene, Frank and Alice were a team playing against Lily, James, Remus and Peter. The teams were pretty evenly matched and the score was tied at four to four when something odd started to happen.

Author's Note 2: Mwuhaha. Hehe Hope you liked it. Please review and let me know.


	7. Chapter 6 Once Defied

Author: Laurahonest

Chapter 6: Once Defied

Post Date: 9-14-2006

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter. I just play with the characters to amuse myself and hopefully you.

Authors Notes: Thank Bluejello for editing this. Without her it would be full of my sad grammar. 'Voldemort' and 'Riddle' are the same person. 'Riddle' is used by James and his father to refer to Lord Voldemort in a way meant to strip him of the power of his name. This is similar to the way that Dumbledore calls him 'Tom'. It takes away his uniqueness, which he does not like.

James was amazed at how well Lily was flying. She was a natural; she was even good at Quidditch. Of course, Lily would be better with some training but she was doing really well. She had even made one of their goals and assisted with another. James settled back on his broom to watch her circle the pitch again. Lily dodged Sirius and stole the quaffle from Marlene. She was good. Too bad she refused to play for the Gryffindor team. Lily was on her way to the goal posts when James saw something black hurtling towards her. "Lily, look out!" he shouted. "On your left!" He stared at the object as she expertly sloth-grip rolled to avoid it and saw that it was a bludger. '_The bludgers are locked up though' _he thought, as he conjured a beater's bat and streaked off towards her to get rid of it. Sirius was already there, but both bludgers were attacking her now. Sirius was keeping them at bay, but only barely. James pulled out his wand and destroyed one bludger right after Sirius knocked it away, but he couldn't get at the other one without endangering Lily. Sirius couldn't get enough force behind it to knock it more than a few feet away from her. It was almost as if it was magnetically attracted to her. It wouldn't leave her alone.

James glanced around to see if the others had noticed. Then he noticed someone acting very strange. Broderick seemed frozen, he wasn't moving a bit. He was just hovering there, staring at the far end of the pitch. Broderick's face went white and he streaked off the pitch towards the house, yelling. James looked where Broderick had been staring and yelled as well.

Everyone looked at him and he pointed. Five figures in black robes and masks were walking across the pitch towards them. Death Eaters. James looked back towards the bludger attacking Lily. Sirius hit it again and James saw his chance. He got off a lucky spell, which reduced it to a fine powder just like the first one.

By unspoken consent, everyone landed and turned to face the oncoming Death Eaters in a united line. James knew that it would have been hopeless to try and flee so did everyone else. Broderick had gotten lucky; he may have been overlooked entirely. Lily and Sirius were at James' sides. The robed figure in the middle started to speak and everyone's blood ran cold. "Hello children, how are your parents?" It was Lord Voldemort. What was Voldemort doing here on a Quidditch pitch, with a bunch of teens not even out of school as his targets? He had just called them children and everyone knew that Voldemort didn't think untested 'children' were worth his time. Unless he was just using them to cause pain elsewhere. The Potter family was very well-respected. Losing their only child would be a huge blow to the family and the community. It wouldn't get him support though. The Potter's were too well-liked. Very few people would join him because of any actions taken here tonight. So, what was he planning with this attack? Why had he come personally, when the target was just 'children'?

Voldemort stepped forward and raised his wand to curse them, but James started talking. Voldemort was that particular type of villain who likes to play with his victims and he couldn't curse James without giving him a chance to beg for his life first, and maybe provide some amusement as well. "What are you doing here, Riddle?" James asked. "You know that we will never support you or your cause. We stand firmly with Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic. Anything you do here tonight will only push people further from supporting you and unite them more firmly together against you. Killing any of us won't do you any good at all. The entire wizarding world will know that you attacked the Potter home with no provocation."

"I need no support from Mudbloods and blood traitors. Those are the only ones who don't support me already. I have all of the support I want. That isn't why I came here tonight though. Would you like to know my real reasons for being here?" he asked in a conversational tone.

"Not that I really care but, sure, enlighten me. Why did you come to my Quidditch pitch tonight? What is your evil plan?" James played along.

"I came here for you, James" was Voldemort's answer. Lily's blood felt like ice in her veins. "Do you want to know why?"

"Yes, bore me with the numerous, erroneous reasons that you came to get me," James replied coldly. He tried not to let on how unnerved he was by this whole conversation.

"You are quite impertinent, James. But never mind your bad manners; they won't matter much longer anyway. My reasoning is thus: it won't be hard for me to make it appear that you were secretly on my side. Your trusting parents will be devastated when they hear the news. Their only son gone over to evil and a supporter of the greatest dark wizard ever. The magical community will be outraged against you, and your parents will be doubted. Many will start to believe that they too are on my side. Perhaps, they will all say, that is why your dad can come so close to catching me but him and the aurors always miss me by just a few minutes. I will personally deliver the sad news to them. It is, after all, part of being the leader. One must take the stories of victorious deaths to the families of the fallen. This is what your parents will hear: you united with me and your best friends were forced to kill you. Ironic, isn't it? Really though, I will be killing you and your friends. It will appear to the ministry that everything I told your parents was true. Before you die, dear Jamesie, you will get to watch your friends die and even help torture them. Then you will have the joy of being tortured until you beg for death to come to you and release you from your misery. Now, let's get on with it, shall we?" with that he flicked his wand towards James.

"Protego," Lily's calm voice cut through Voldemort's chattering. Her powerful shield blocked his spell and a bundle of rope hit the ground in front of James.

"Well, you are quick with your wand." Voldemort sounded slightly surprised about that. "Let me see, red hair, green eyes and oh, a cocky attitude. You must be that little Mudblood pet of Dumbleore's. You will be fun to torture. Just think James, you can help me with her. It will be quite enjoyable. We can do all sorts of nasty things to her."

Lily's wand wasn't wavering a bit. Suddenly, Voldemort found himself bound and gagged in a heap on the ground. All of the Death Eaters abandoned their watches and ran to help their fallen master. During this distraction, the teens apparated to the Manor while all of their enemies had their attention focused on each other. Broderick had warned the adults of the situation, so they were prepared when the eight teens suddenly appeared on the doorstep. The all rushed inside, James slammed the door behind them, and it magically locked. There was a slight whoosh as the adults cast their pre-arranged defensive spells and charms on the house and grounds. As soon as the spells were in place, the adults turned to the teens for an explanation. Gerald was keeping an eye out the window while still asking for an explanation. The adults wanted to hear everything from the time Broderick left until they apparated to the doorstep. All it took to quiet everyone down was Lily uttering two words: "James, explain." Everyone sat down, except for Gerald, who moved closer to the window to keep an eye out on the grounds.

"Every detail, James," Gerald put in from his post by the window. "It may help us figure out who the Death Eaters were."

"Yes, sir. It started out while I was watching the game from above. I noticed a Bludger attacking Lily. I got worried because we weren't playing with the bludgers since it was so close to dark. Sirius and I conjured bats and flew towards her to stop it when the other one came and joined the attack as well. Broderick yelled before he came here to warn you and I looked down and saw four Death Eaters on the field. I disintegrated the bludgers and we all landed and huddled together. Riddle started talking..."

"Riddle was here?" his father asked.

"Yes, Riddle was here," James confirmed. Gerald cast a spell and a shadowy figure ran out the window and away to the north.

"Go on James, tell the rest," Lily prompted.

"Riddle was babbling on about how much pain it would cause you if he killed me and how fun it would be to make me watch him torture my friends and even make me help him torture them. He tried to bind me but Lily cast a shield spell and his spell missed all of us. He thought it was funny and continued on about torturing her and out of nowhere someone wordlessly bound him and I gagged him. The Death Eaters all ran to help him and we apparated here."

"Who bound him?" Gerald asked as he cast a penetrating look around the room.

"I did." Lily quietly answered. "He wasn't paying attention to me even though he was looking at me and taunting James about me. We needed to escape before he started to really pay attention and decided to kill or capture us instead of just talking about how fun it would be."

After that no one said a word. They all just sat there silently each lost in their own thoughts until a house elf came in with coffee and dessert.

Gerald cast another spell. This time a small puff of dust came out and disappeared out the window. A few minutes later the puff of dust returned. "They are gone," he said simply and sat down to eat coffee and cake with the rest of them.


	8. Chapter 7 Parental Interventions

Chapter 7: Parental Interventions

Author: Laurahonest

Post Date: 11-01-06

Authors Note: Sorry that this took so long. Updates may get farther apart from now on. I am about a month and a half away from having my baby. We will be moving at the end of this month as well. I won't abandon the story though. You guys are to great to leave hanging like that! This chapter is a direct result of a review from grannyHPfan. If you want to see something let me know in a review and I will see if it will fit into the story. Hey the worst I can do is say no. Thank Bluejello for editing this. She is awesome!

Charles approached Gerald one morning after breakfast and asked if he and Rose could speak privately with him and Selene. Gerald agreed and the four soon found themselves locked in one of the small libraries having a serious conversation.

"Thank you for agreeing to talk with us privately," Charles started. "I am not sure how much of what I am about to say you are aware of, but Rose and I would like your input before we proceed further here. From what we have gathered from Lily, your son has been attracted to her for quite some time, although she thought he was insincere until recently. He has not been shy about making his feelings known, and as most teenage boys do, he overdid it. Lily has a temper and she lost it with him. She yelled at him and said things that she regrets. However, it seems that her words, no matter how angry she was, had an effect on James."

"I remember," said Selene. "He moped half the summer. Tea anyone?"

"Please," replied Charles and Rose together.

"I would also take a cup dear," Gerald ansewered his wife. "I had to take James aside and pry to get it out of him. We were both quite glad that she had made him think about his actions. It really helped straighten him out in that aspect."

"Once Gerald spoke with him though," Selene laughed as she passed the tea around, "he really started thinking and figured out what he had done to anger her so much. He figured out ways to change, and had us help him with the changes."

"Really?" asked Rose, her teacup stopped midway to her lips. "He consciously changed his behavior because of her outburst?"

"Yes," Selene confirmed after she took a sip of tea, "he was very upset that he had made her that angry."

Rose set her teacup down without taking a drink.

"So," Charles steered the conversation back, "you were aware of some of his feelings. Did he tell you about the letter he wrote to us?"

"No," Gerald replied as he set his teacup down. "What was it about?"

"Here, you can read what he sent to us," Charles said as he handed the letter to Gerald. Selene leaned over and read it over her husband's shoulder as she peacefully sipped on her tea..

"I had no idea," Gerald said when he finished the letter.

"He had mentioned trying to woo her the old-fashioned way to me," Selene said. "I assumed he meant that he would use less flamboyant means, you know, no more of the showing off and pranks to get her attention, not writing a letter to you. What did you say?"

"We replied that we would decide over the break," Charles said.

They all sat there thinking silently for a few minutes, each going over the new information that the others had provided.

"What do we do?" asked Rose of no one in particular.

"They are very young," Selene commented.

"They do seem to be getting along very well now," Rose put in.

"He showed incredible maturity by asking permission," Charles added.

"She seems to like him now," said Gerald.

With that they all fell back into silence for a little while longer as they drank their tea.

"They work well together," Gerald stated suddenly.

"Almost like they can read each others thoughts," Selene finished.

"They are still very young though," Rose said the protective mother in her wouldn't let that fact alone.

"But very mature for their ages," Charles defended the teens.

More silence followed this exchange. Then Selene uttered the question that they had all been dreading. "What about Voldemort?" There was more silence as each of them considered this. No one touched their tea during this pause for thought. All four of them looked worried as they all thought about the evil in their society.

Charles broke the silence; "Please correct me if I am wrong. Lily told us that he attacks those of non-magical birth as much or more than he attacks pure-blood wizards."

"Lily would be putting James in more danger by being with him," Rose quietly added.

"Charles, you are correct to an extent; Rose, that is untrue." Gerald interrupted. "There is a third group in Riddle's eyes: The "Blood-traitors." We fall into this group. He uses this term to refer to anyone who stands up to him and protects muggles and muggleborns. He hates us most of all, because we stand up to him and protect his victims. He can't sway us to his side by any means."

"This is part of why we are so high on his list of enemies," Selene said quietly, as she continued to ingore the cooling tea in front of her. "James being with Lily would put her in a lot of danger. James would put any girl into more danger though. He is a Potter."

"Potter's have always stood up against dark wizards," Gerald explained. "As far back as our heritage can be traced, we have fought dark and evil. It is part of our family crest and motto. We can't expect Lily or any other girl to jump into a battle that has been going on for centuries."

"Lily wants to fight Voldemort. He has hurt her and killed her friends; she is not afraid to stand up to him." Charles put in.

"We are not saying that at all," Selene soothed. "We just don't want James to get her into a battle far older than her without her being fully aware of it."

"We don't know that Lily wants anything more than friendship from James yet," reminded Gerald.

"So what shall we do about this?" Rose questioned.

"Why don't you have a 'motherly chat' with her?" suggested Selene. "We can decide after you have felt her out a little on this."

"Shall we meet back here in a couple of hours then?" asked Gerald.

"That will work nicely," Rose agreed. "Let me go find her. I'll let you know after our talk is over."

With that the four of them left the room. When Wheezy came in to clean an hour later she found four half-finished cups of tea on a table. Gerald sought James out and Rose went to find Lily. Both parents had productive conversations with their children. After lunch the four adults met back in the small library to discuss their new discoveries.

"What did you discover, Rose?" asked Charles, once they were all seated.

"She, at least to me, obviously likes James. She doesn't seem to realize it though. I think that once she realizes how she feels about him, she would do anything for him," Rose stated.

"Gerald, what did you find out from James?" Selene asked.

"He loves her." Gerald stated. "He is willing to leave the fight for her.  
If she asked him to, I think he would move to Australia."

After these revelations the four concerned parents fell into a pensive silence.

"Well, it seems like our decision has been made for us," Charles said.

"We can't stand in the way of that," put in Rose.

"They are already bound to each other and they don't even know it," Gerald whispered.

"We should give them our blessing then," Selene finished.

"I will tell him he has permission before bed tonight," Charles said.

"Well it seems that we may be in-laws in not too many years," Rose said with a smile, as they got up to leave the room.


	9. Chapter 8 Christmas Day

Chapter 8: Christmas Day

Author: Laurahonest

Post Date: 3/7/07

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter franchise. J.K. Rowling is just nice enough to let others play with her genius.

Author's Notes: As usual thank Bluejello for editing this, without her you would have to put up with my terrible grammar. Sorry that this took so long. I have a 4 month-old son and he occupies most of my time. I am going to finish this story, it just might take a while.

Life fell back into a normal routine after the attack on the Potter's and their guests. Christmas Eve was almost over and everyone was on their way to bed. James was caught off guard when Charles stopped him from leaving the room with his friends. He did as he was asked and stayed behind to talk to the older man.

"James," Charles started, "Rose and I have talked quite a bit since we got here. We have reached a decision regarding your letter. We like you, you're a nice guy. We are giving you permission to pursue a relationship with our daughter."

James just stared with his mouth hanging open.

"If you can make her fall in love with you," Charles continued, "This means truly in love, with no potions or spells involved." James started to object but Charles held up his hand and James fell silent. "Then maybe one day you'll even be my son-in-law. I know how enamored you are, but give her some time just to be your girlfriend before you ask her to be more. She likes to take things one step at a time."

James found his tongue, "Even after Voldemort? Even though my family is a major target of his?"

"Yes," affirmed Charles, "even and especially considering all of that. Voldemort is after Lily too, simply because her mother and I are not magical. It really isn't that different than it would be without you involved. Besides, you two work well together during attacks and we think you will make her happy."

"Thank you, sir," James said sincerely.

James started out of the room but Charles voice made him stop. "A word of advice James."

James turned around, "Please, sir, any advice would be appreciated," he said, with a look of hope on his face.

"Her name may be Lily, but they are not her favorite flowers."

"Ok," James registered what he had been told, "No lilies for Lily. What is her favorite flower, sir?"

"Pink carnations," Charles said. "Pink, not red."

With that James ran off to his room, calling a thank you over his shoulder. Charles just smiled and hoped that Lily would see the love in James eyes and respond to it.

James paced his room half the night trying to think of the best way to approach Lily. He thought of one, then tossed it aside. He needed something spectacular because nothing average was good enough for Lily. Finally, inspiration struck and James spent the next hour setting it up. He fell into bed at about three in the morning, and into an exhausted sleep.

Lily woke up early the next morning. She got up, stretched, and started to get dressed. When she was ready for the day she walked over to the window and opened the curtains before walking back to the bed and sitting down to watch the sun rise. A little while before the sun came up fully she heard someone tapping on the door. Lily softly called out, "Come in," and continued watching the sun rise before her. James came in and sat beside her on the bed to watch the rest of the sunrise in silence. When the sun was up completely and the colors had faded Lily turned to James and smiled. "Good morning," she said as she stretched.

"Good morning, Lily. Merry Christmas!" James said as he handed her a bouquet of pink carnations.

"Merry Christmas, James," Lily replied as she took the flowers. "Oh, they are lovely."

"I'm sorry, Lily. I sometimes come in here to watch the sun rise when I'm on break. I heard you moving around and I knew you were up. I hope you don't mind," James rambled.

"Shh," Lily said, "It's all right. I don't mind. I enjoy having someone watch the sun rise with me. It was gorgeous this morning." Lily moved over to the dresser and conjured a vase full of water for her carnations.

"They always are on Christmas," James said, "but today was especially pretty. The light made your eyes shine." With that James blushed. "I'm sorry. I know you don't like my compliments but you looked so pretty that it just slipped out."

"Don't worry," soothed Lily, "I can tell when you are being sincere. Let's go see who else is up." Lily pulled James up off of the bed. They walked out of the room hand-in-hand and down to the dining room. When they got there James dropped her hand to open the door for her. The only people inside were the adults. They were the first of the teens to make it downstairs. James pulled out a chair for Lily and they sat down to have coffee and pastries with the parents while they waited for everyone else to make their way down.

Gradually the others trickled in. Marlene came first, followed by Frank and Alice. Remus came next, very hungry. Finally, Broderick and Peter came in and left only Sirius still in bed. Gerald stood up and motioned for James to do the same. James obliged and Gerald conjured two big buckets of water. They each took one off the table and walked out of the room. They came back about ten minutes later with Sirius in tow. All three of them were soaking wet and dripping. "What happened to you?" asked Selene.

"Well, sneaky little git that he is, Sirius was awake when we came in and waiting for us with his own bucket of water," James explained

"They looked like they needed showers," Sirius said sweetly. He settled in at the table and started to eat. Lily flicked her wand and all three of them were instantly dry.

When Sirius was finally done eating, they all moved into the family room to open gifts. Everyone settled in and got comfortable as Wheezy the house elf started passing out the gifts. When all of the gifts were at the appropriate person's feet Wheezy left the room. Gerald grinned and said, "Dig in kids," and the wrapping paper started to fly. From all over the room came little squeals of excitement. The phrases 'thank you' and 'I love it' were heard often and from every corner.

James almost jumped through the roof when he opened the present that Lily had given him. "Lily!" he yelled as he jumped up and ran through the room. "I love it. How did you know I was looking for one of these?"

"Good guess," she said with a smile. "This one is extra special though."

"Did you get the Deluxe Edition Broom Safe-keeping Carry Bag?" Sirius asked as he ran over to them.

"Did you, Lily?" asked James.

"Nope," she laughed, "the Deluxe Edition only has two more charms than the regular. This one has ten extra charms. Things like an anti-prank charm, a theft resist charm and a hover charm so it can't be thrown down chance the broom breaking."

"Lily, did you charm it yourself?" James asked quietly.

"Yes," replied Lily.

James crushed her in a hug. "Lily, you are amazing, you know that?"

"No, you'll have to tell me again," she said with a wink.

"Here, open mine," he urged as he picked up the smallest box from the pile at her feet. Lily took the package and slowly started to open it.

"Lily, just rip it. The paper isn't worth saving," Sirius said impatiently.

"Shh! Don't rush me, Sirius," Lily said, as she started to unwrap the box more slowly. James, still sitting beside her, started to get antsy and sighed loudly. Lily just laughed and unwrapped it even slower. When she finally got all of the paper off she had a small wooden jewelry box sitting in her hand. She pulled the lid off and found her gift. Lily gasped and reached to pull it out of the box. It was a small pendant on a white gold chain. The pendant was an emerald, a ruby, and a sapphire set around an opal in white gold. It sparkled and flashed every time she moved it.

"It is charmed to sparkle when you move," James volunteered softly.

"It's gorgeous," she breathed, "James, it's so pretty, where did you find it?"

"There's a jewelry shop in London that carries charmed jewelry," was all she could get him to say.

Lily smiled as he helped her put it on. "Thank you, James," she said with a smile.

After all of the presents were unwrapped, the elves picked up the paper. Everyone took their presents to their rooms and met back in the dining room for lunch.

His side hurt, his breathing was heavy. He snuck a look around a tree and something soft and wet hit him in the face. He heard the laughter that made his heart melt. He bent over and grabbed a handful of snow. Without even thinking about it he stood up and threw it at the girl whose laugh made him so happy. It hit her in the knee. She laughed again.

Lily stood up and brushed the snow off her knee and shook her finger at her attacker. James grinned at her sheepishly and shrugged. While she had him distracted Marlene hit him in the back of the head with another snowball. Now it was her turn to shrug as she bent over for more ammunition. Lily ducked back into her hiding place as James threw more snowballs her way. Lily tried to keep James occupied so that Marlene could sneak up behind Sirius without him being warned. Lily barely had to try. James was so enthralled by her that it was quite easy to keep his attention on her.

Marlene stealthily moved through the trees, circling behind Sirius. When she got close, she grabbed a double handful of snow and jumped at him. His attention was on Alice and Frank. He didn't notice the girl behind him until he felt snow being shoved down the back of his collar. Sirius jumped up and down and danced around in a circle, trying to get it out. Alice had her camera out in a flash and the whole thing was recorded. The girls weren't quite sure what it would be used for yet. They were fairly certain that it would involve the Great Hall in some way.

Marlene didn't quite duck in time as Broderick and Peter came to help Sirius. She got two snowballs right in the stomach as she tried to run. Alice put the camera away and started pelting them with more snowballs. Lily and James ran to join the fray. In all of the confusion no one noticed that Remus wasn't throwing snowballs. The snowballs were flying fast and furious when Remus rejoined the fight. At first no one noticed that more snowballs were flying than before. Soon everyone was ducking for cover and looking to see who was throwing all of the snowballs.

All around Remus was a circle of little snowmen. Half of the snowmen were throwing snowballs and half were preparing more ammunition. They had really good aim. Everyone was getting hit, the Marauders were their targets just as often as the others.

"Traitor!" yelled Sirius, "Moony, you old dog you! Why is your army throwing at us?"

"They are throwing at you to try to plug your loud mouth, Padfoot," came Remus' laughing reply.

James tried to get a snowball through to hit Remus, but one of the snowmen jumped up and took the missile for its maker. Sirius and Peter hit the same snowman and he fell apart. Remus gulped as he saw his soldier go down. All of the others cheered and started throwing snowballs at the little white men. They were elusive and hard to hit. After about a half hour of this only one more had been defeated.

James realized their mistake. "Aim for Remus!" he yelled. Everybody changed tactics and aimed for Remus. The little men jumped to protect him and they finally started to fall. When the last one was down, Remus knew he was in trouble. He tried to duck most of the snow, but when eight people are pelting you with snowballs they are going to hit you a lot. Remus finally surrendered. Each person threw one last snowball at him. They all suddenly realized that it was very cold and they wanted hot cocoa.

Everyone trooped inside to warm up. They were met at the door by Selene. She made them take off their wet snow things in the entrance way. When no one was dripping anymore, she let them go to the kitchen for cocoa and gingerbread cookies. Once they were warmed up, they moved to the living room. The adults decided to go take a nap. Sirius suggested chess. They played a marathon: boys versus girls. It ended in a draw when the adults came back down. Sirius' stomach let out a loud growl right before Wheezy came in to announce dinner.

They all sat down to eat. While they were eating they discussed the day. Remus' enchanted snowmen came up. Gerald was thrilled that Remus had managed to keep the others at bay for so long before they had figured out how to defeat his spell.

When Sirius and James were finally full everyone went back to the living room. They started to sing Christmas carols, muggle and wizard alike. None of the wizards had heard "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer." It was fun trying to teach them the new song. The clock started to chime midnight before anyone realized how late it was. They decided to call it a night and everyone went off to bed.

Author's Note: I am sure that you will love the next chapter. Be sure to review. It might inspire me to write more during my son's naps.


	10. Chapter 9 Curiousity

Chapter 9: Curiousity

Author: Laurahonest

Post Date: 5/15/07

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any thing related to Harry Potter. That honor belongs to J.K.Rowling , she is just kind enought to let me play with her creations.

Author's Note: Thank Bluejello for editing this, without her you would have to look at my bad grammar.

"James," Lily called, "thank you so much, for everything."

"You are welcome, Lily," James replied.

Lily moved over to give James a quick hug and he hugged her back. "Lily," he started, still holding her tightly.

"Yes?" she questioned, as she broke their hug.

"Lily," James started again. "I know that you have said no before. I have changed though, really I have. I even asked your parents for permission this time."

"For what, James?" she asked sweetly.

"Lily...Lily willyougooutwithme?" he hesitated at first, then blurted it out without a single pause.

Silence reigned for a moment. Lily stared at him, angry that he had ruined her perfect day. James' hopeful look faded and his face started to turn red in embarrassment. The longer Lily stared, the redder his face got, and his expression became more and more disappointed. Then Lily realized that James hadn't ruined the perfect day, he had given it the best possible ending. "Lily?" James voice interrupted her thoughts. "I'm sorry, I'll just go to bed now," he sighed. James started to walk away when Lily's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Yes," she said, "yes, James I will go out with you."

He slowly turned, stunned, yet needing to see her face to know if she was serious or if he was hallucinating. Lily's face was serious. Lily Evans had just agreed to go out with him. He, James Potter, was going out with Lily Evans. James grabbed her and hugged her. "Really, Lily, you really will?" he stammered out, still in shock.

"Yes, James, I really will," she softly replied, with a smile. Lily squealed when James picked her up and spun her around. He gently set her down and kissed her on the cheek. They said good night and went to their own rooms to go to bed, each a little stunned at what had just happened between them.

As James lay in bed he could barely believe that he was really dating Lily. She had been his dream for so long and now that dream had finally come true. He couldn't screw this up. He knew that Lily would only give him one chance. He would never be able to forgive himself if he hurt her in any way. She didn't deserve to be treated badly and left hurting, her last boyfriend had done that to her. He wouldn't ever leave her like that. Tomorrow, he would show her how a boyfriend should treat her. James fell asleep thinking about what things he would do for her.

Across the hall Lily was still awake. Why had she said yes? What had changed? She thought back over the school year. Yes, they had become friends. Why? Well, they had to work together every day. Their bickering had to stop for them to be able to work together and be good examples for the other students. So they had stopped arguing, but that wasn't it. She had stopped arguing with Sirius too, but that didn't mean she was going to say yes if he asked her out. What else had prompted this? Once they had stopped constantly arguing they had realized that they had some things in common. That had laid the foundation for a shaky friendship. James had matured. He had stopped hexing people for no reason. He had been giving detentions instead of using magic to punish wrong-doing. That had kept him out of trouble. She still didn't know why she was dating him though. Putting all physical traits aside, because Lily never dated on looks alone, she tried to figure out what had made her change her mind. As she lay there, she thought about every interaction with him since they has stopped fighting, it suddenly hit her. She had never really hated him, well to be honest she had but only because she had been disappointed by him. She had secretly liked him before he started trying to impress her. Her hatred had stemmed from her disappointment. Weren't hatred and love two sides of the same coin? Lily flew upright in her bed. She loved James Potter. She, Lily Evans loved James Potter, and she had for a long time. No way could she tell him though. If she told him that on their first day as a couple it would scare him to death and drive him away. No, she would give him time to feel the same way she did, then she would tell him. With that thought, she fell asleep.

The last week of the year went by quickly. Everyone was pleased that James and Lily had finally gotten together. Money moved from Sirius' and Peter's hands to Remus' back account as the result of a bet. Finally it was New Year's Eve, and everyone was getting ready for the masquerade ball.

The three girls were getting ready in Lily's room. Frank and Alice were going as Arthur and Guinevere. Lily helped Alice charm her hair. It had to grow down to her waist and become sunshine blonde. It took Lily twenty minutes to complete the charms. It probably wouldn't have taken as long if Alice hadn't been so panicky about the charms. Lily also had to charm Marlene's strawberry-blonde hair black for her costume as Circe. Lily was glad that her costume required no difficult charms to change her hair color. She had looked long and hard for a witch that was obscure, yet still famous enough to be remembered. Lily had finally chosen to go as Daisy Dodderidge, the founder of the Leaky Cauldron. She was going to wear a simple old fashioned gown and an old style cloak. As soon as she had finished with the other girls' hair, she put on her dress, bonnet, and cloak. Lily pulled her long hair up into a proper bun for the type of work that her character had performed. She charmed her small mask to sit over her eyes and nose without a string. Lily studied her reflection in the mirror, holding first a dish towel and then with a mug, as she debated which to use as a prop. She decided on the dish towel and then double checked to see if the other girls needed more help. Lily performed a quick charm on her mask to change her eye color and shape just a bit, to make it harder for her to be recognized. Finally, all three girls were satisfied with their costumes, so they walked down to the ball room to mingle with the other guests. They spread out over the room, talking to other guests and trying to avoid the people who would immediately know them. It didn't take James long to seek Lily out. "Madam" he said, as he offered his arm, "would you do me the honor of condescending to dance with me?"

"Why yes, good sir," Lily played along, "but it is you who does me the great honor and condescends to dance with me." They moved out on to the dance floor and danced several dances before they decided to take a break. The couple moved to one of the small tables around the edge of the room and sat down. James went to get drinks, when he returned Sirius came and sat with them. They sat there for a while and the others gradually joined them. After a while they decided to go dance again. Before anyone realized it, the clock was striking midnight. Everyone pulled off their masks; there were several gasps when true identities were revealed. The guests mingled and danced for a couple more hours before the party started to break up.

Sometime during the wee hours of the morning, the marauders and their guests were finally headed for bed. Halfway to their rooms, Sirius suddenly realized that he and Marlene hadn't finished the chess tournament that had been interrupted by the train arriving at King's Cross Station. He planted himself directly in her path and blocked every attempt to get around him as he declared, "Marlene, you owe me a chess tournament."

"Not now Sirius," she said, "I am too tired."

"Come on, Marlene, it's only three games," he whined.

"In the morning," she said, as she shoved him out of the way and went to her door.

"It is morning," he attempted to reason with her.

"When it is daylight," she clarified.

"The sun will be up in two hours," he informed her cheerily.

"At noon, Sirius," Marlene stated, as she slammed her door in his eager face.

"At noon, exactly on the stroke of noon!" he yelled through the door.

James and Lily laughed at him as he went to bed. They stood in the hall and talked for a few minutes before kissing good-night and going to their own beds.

At seven in the morning Lily woke up to loud shouts out in the hall. She stumbled to the door and stuck her head out to see what on earth was going on. Sirius was running from a very angry, very wet Marlene.

"_Immobulous" _James said.

"_Silencio" _Lily said.

They left them that way and went back into their rooms to change. When they came back out James lifted his spell. "Go sit down on that couch right there," he commanded. Sirius and Marlene sheepishly moved over to the couch and sat down at opposite ends of it.

"All right, I am not sure that I want to know but, Marlene, tell me what happened," Lily said, as she released the silencing spell that she had placed on Marlene.

"I was in my bed, nice and warm, sleeping peacefully, when Sirius came in and dumped a huge bucket of water on my head. He said that he wanted to get me up to play chess, and that he was helping me out by showering me so that I could just dry off and go straight to the chessboard!" Marlene sputtered with rage.

"Ok, now Sirius, you can explain why you did this," James said, as Lily released the spell on Sirius.

"Well," Sirius started sweetly, "she said that she would play chess with me when the sun came up. I was just trying to be helpful."

"I did not," yelled Marlene.

"_Silencio!" _James cast the spell over both of them again.

"Goodness, you two," Lily admonished them. "Marlene, you are up now, so go dry off, play chess with the poor puppy, and kick his butt. Sirius, apologize for waking us up so early, and for heaven's sake quit dumping water on people while they are asleep. James, lets go back to bed. I think that I can still get a couple more hours of sleep," she finished with a yawn.

Marlene acquiesesed with a nod, Sirius humbly apologized, and James and Lily went back to their own beds to sleep a little bit longer.

James and Lily woke up around noon and wandered down to the living room. Sirius and Marlene were in a corner, bent over a chess board.

"How goes-" James started to ask.

"Shhh!" Sirius and Marlene said together, effectively cutting him off.

"Sit over here," Frank whispered. "They stipulated that the winner has to win two games in a row."

James and Lily just stared at him blankly.

"So far, they have played seventy-three games and neither of them is willing to concede," Alice supplied, in a whisper.

They sat and silently watched the two battle it out. After three games Lily finally stepped in. "Ok you two that is 38 games each and you have been playing for six hours. Let's go eat, maybe play in the snow, something we can all do together on the last day of our break."

"Fine," they grumbled in unison.

"Now go get showered and dressed. You are both still in your pajamas," Lily ordered.

They both trudged off towards the stairs to get dressed and ready. Everyone else went to the dining room for lunch or, in some cases, breakfast. Sirius and Marlene hadn't come back by the time everyone was done eating.

"Maybe they went back to their chess tournament," Peter suggested.

"Or they went back to bed after their charming little scene this morning," Lily replied.

"Let's go find them," sighed Broderick.

They checked the living room first. The chessboard was just as they had left it. On their way upstairs they discussed plans for the rest of the day. James and Lily led the way up the stairs, just before reaching the top, they stopped abruptly. Frank and Alice were following too closely, and ran into them before they could stop. The others had enough warning to avoid further collisions.

"Hey, Prongs, why did you stop?" Peter piped up, from the very back of the group.

James and Lily silently moved into the hallway to allow the others to see why they had stopped so abruptly. Everyone moved into the hallway and James pointed down towards the end of it. Five jaws hit the floor when they saw what he was pointing at. No one had ever expected to the image before their eyes at that moment. Sirius and Marlene had apparently stopped arguing over who was the better chess player. They were sitting in the same chair. Marlene was on Sirius' lap and they were in the middle a heated snogging session.

"Ahem," Lily cleared her throat, hands on her hips. She had the sternest expression on her that she could possibly make. Marlene jumped up and moved away from Sirius very quickly. Sirius just put his foot up on the coffee table in front of his chair and stretched out with a grin.

Author's Second Note: The next Chapter is called "Revelations" and it involves Valentine's Day.


	11. Chapter 10 Revelations

Author: Laurahonest

Chapter 10: Revelations

Post Date: 7/14/07

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to Harry Potter. That right belongs to J. K. Rowling and she is just nice enought to let me play with her toys.

Author's Note: Thanks to BlueJello for editing this. Without her many errors would exist.

"What is going on up here?" James asked slyly.

"Marlene, I am your best friend, why didn't you tell me about this?" Lily whined.

"Were all of the arguments just cover for this?" Remus queried.

Marlene just blushed and Sirius tried to act nonchalant.

"How long has this been going on?" Alice asked, "Just answer that first."

"For about thirty minutes," Sirius answered.

"Is today the first time that it has happened?" Lily asked quietly.

"Yes, Lily, today is the first time ever." Marlene responded.

"You were going to tell me weren't you?" Lily pleaded.

"Of course I was, as soon as we were alone." Marlene reassured her friend.

Lily smiled as she and Alice grabbed Marlene and ran off toward her room. "We'll be back in a while," Lily called over her shoulder to the boys. Once they were in her room, Lily and Alice grilled Marlene until she finally cracked.

"Whoa!" she cried. "I give, I'll spill everything, from the beginning. It started just before break. Not the physical aspect that you just saw!" she held up her hands to silence the questions from her friends, then continued. "I'll explain everything. I wasn't sure that I wanted to come here because I had a little crush on Sirius. I wasn't sure that I wanted to spend the entire break in such close quarters with him. When I found out that both of you were coming I decided that it wouldn't be too bad, and if necessary, I could grab one of you and enlist you to help keep me away from him. Of course, coming also kept me out of mum's kitchen all break. On the way here, after everyone else fell asleep we had a conversation that really touched me. He was so kind and understanding. He offered to let me stay with him if I ever needed to. I started to hope that he might like me just a little bit as well. The bracelet that he got me for Christmas also helped with that. Then last night at the ball he told me that he liked me and asked me out. Before I had time to answer you came and got us to go to bed. I think that is why he suddenly remembered our chess tournament. He wanted to get me alone to continue our conversation. I needed some time to think though, so I turned him down. I still wasn't sure when he came and woke me up this morning. We talked a little about it this morning during our tournament but people started coming in before we got anywhere with the conversation. Then when you sent us up here Sirius sat down and forced me to sit down on his lap. We finally got to say all that needed to be said and Sirius asked again. This time I said yes. We had just started snogging when you all walked up the stairs."

"Why didn't you mention your feelings before?" Lily asked.

"I don't really know. I think I wanted to figure out my feelings and try to figure his out before I told anyone else how I felt," Marlene explained.

"And you needed to do that without anyone else's feelings confusing things even more," Alice finished for her. "Believe me, I know how that feels."

"I do too, Marlene," Lily agreed.

"So you guys aren't mad that I didn't tell you before now?" Marlene asked hopefully.

"Of course not," both girls answered together.

"We do expect all of the juicy details from now on though!" Lily added.

After that they went back out in the hall to find the guys and finish the break together.

The next morning everyone traveled back to King's Cross to get on the train back to Hogwarts and all of the parents went home. There was a depressed end-of-the-holidays feel to the platform while everyone was saying their goodbyes. The holiday had been so fun that no one wanted to see it end.

It was February 13th and all of the seventh year Gryffindors were sitting in the common room, studying. Lily scribbled something on a scrap of parchment and passed it to James.

_James, no cupids, puppies or teddy bears following me and throwing rose petals tomorrow. I want a normal Valentine's Day! _

James wadded the paper up and tossed it into the fireplace with a mischievous grin. Then he went back to work, looking like the model of innocence. Lily turned red and scribbled another note.

_James I mean it! Nothing stupid! I want to be a normal couple. I don't want to stand out because of the 'present' that you bewitch to follow me around!!_

James smiled sweetly as this note flew into the flames as well. He almost laughed when he remembered how embarrassed Lily had been in fifth year. He had charmed a teddy bear to follow her around throwing rose petals and asking her out for him. It hadn't worked but it had been very funny, at least to him. Lily had definitely not agreed. He had sported pink hair for a week afterwards.

_James Harold Potter I mean it!!! You will be single faster than Sirius can find food!_

James outright laughed as he read this note. That got the attention of Sirius. He dove at James and ripped the note out of his hand. As he read it, he started to laugh then passed it on to Peter.

"Trouble in paradise already, Prongsie?" he laughingly asked, "Lily, that is very fast. You have a chocolate bar in your bag and Marlene has bread crumbs in her hair."

"Shut up, Sirius!" James retorted. "All right Lily, no puppies, cupids or teddy bears will follow you around tomorrow."

"You promise?" she questioned.

"I promise," James replied a little sulkily.

"Good," she said. Lily flicked her wand and the note that Peter was holding was incinerated. He yelped as it singed his fingers. James just smiled and shook his head.

At breakfast the next morning at exactly 8 o'clock, an owl flew in with a single red rose for Lily. The note simply said _'To: Lily Love, James.' _Lily gave James a kiss on the cheek and whispered, "Thank you," as she got up to go to her first class. Lily conjured up a small bag of water around the stem of the rose to keep it fresh.

At 9 o'clock, just as Professor McGonagall was ready to start Transfiguration, another owl flew in with another single red rose for Lily with another note _'To: Lily Love, James'_. McGonagall ignored the owl and started class as Lily slid this rose in with the first one.

At 10 o'clock an owl flew into Professor Flitwick's class with another rose and the same note _'To: Lily Love, James'. _Lily blushed as red as the rose that she was holding when Professor Flitwick sighed, clutched his heart, and said, "Ah, young love," in a dreamy tone of voice.

At 11 o'clock a fourth owl flew in the common room window while Lily was studying during her free hour. This one carried a rose and the same note as the three previous owls. Lily just took the rose, removed the note and added it to the three prior roses.

At noon, Lily was sitting down to lunch when the fifth owl came in with the same rose and note_ 'To: Lily Love, James'. _Lily took the roses up to her room and conjured a vase for them up there. She assumed that this would happen every hour until she received a full dozen roses.

Owl number six flew into the beginning of Potions and startled professor Slughorn. Lily sighed as she conjured another bag of water around the stem of the rose. The owl and its burden gave Professor Slughorn an idea. He told them to close their books, then started writing on the board. When he was done he had a potion with no title. He asked if anyone knew what it was. No one was surprised that Severus Snape and Lily were the only ones who did. "It is a revealing potion. It will reveal basic facts about items that are dropped into it," Severus answered, when he was called on to speak.

"Good, Severus. Now, Lily, can you expand on that answer any?" Slughorn asked.

"It is also used to reveal the intentions of the senders of gifts and letters," she added.

"Very good," Slughorn praised her. "Now let's get going on making this potion. When you are done, if it works, you can take it and use it on your Valentine's Day goodies"

The seventh owl interrupted Professor Kettleburn's lecture on Hippogriffs. He examined the rose and its note before allowing Lily to add it to her little bag of water. James was asked to stay after class.

By the time the eighth owl arrived Lily was starting to get irritated. Professor Miller almost hexed the owl when it interrupted Defense against the Dark Arts. This sparked an impromptu lecture on wand safety and knowing exactly what you are aiming for when you cast a spell.

Professor Binns didn't even notice the ninth owl as it flew right through him to deliver the same rose and message: _'To: Lily Love, James.' _Lily really thought that a herd of stampeding Hippogriffs wouldn't be enough to make Professor Binns wake up and take notice.

Owl number ten made its appearance in the common room again and Lily just sighed as she removed the rose and its note. The eleventh owl received the same treatment.

At seven o'clock the Great Hall was settling down to dinner when the twelfth owl arrived with what Lily thought would be the last rose to complete the dozen. She assumed that this would be the last time that day that she would find the same note on the same beautiful long stem rose. Lily reached for it absentmindedly and was surprised to find that it was not real. It was a cloth rose that looked incredibly real. She looked at the note expecting to see the same simple message that had been on the others. She was wrong. This note said, 'I_ will love you until this rose wilts and dies.' _Lily's eyes were huge. Marlene shook her.

"Lily, what is it?" she asked. Lily handed the rose to Marlene so that she could read the note. "Aww that is so romantic!" she squealed."James, where did you get such a good idea? Sirius should take lessons from you."

James just smiled and said nothing. Sirius leaned over and kissed her.

Later that evening, James and Lily went for a walk on the grounds. They were walking slowly, holding hands, and staring up at the stars. "Sorry if the twelve owls were a few to many," James apologized.

"It is alright, James," Lily replied. "I was starting to get overwhelmed but it was sweet."

"I meant what that last note says," James said. "I will always love you, Lily Evans."

"I love you too, James Potter," she softly answered him.

"How long have you known that you loved me?" queried James.

Lily looked up at the stars for a minute before answering him. "I have admitted my feelings to myself since Christmas, when I agreed to go out with you," she said. "But, I think that deep down I loved you long before that." Lily blushed before going on, "I had a crush on you back in third year. I didn't want to admit that I liked you back then because you were so arrogant."

"Really, you liked me way back then?"

"Yeah, but if you do any victory dances I will erase your memory," she threatened, as she raised her wand.

James stopped the dance he was about to start and reached for her hand. "You have made me a very happy man, Lily. I don't know what I would do without you," he said softly.

"Let's not think like that, James. I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon, and unless there is something you aren't telling me, there is no need to think about 'what ifs,'" she gently admonished him.

"No, I don't have any plans that you don't already know about. Oh, wait, one thing we haven't discussed yet." He paused when Lily gave him an odd look. "I think that we should have about twelve kids." James fought to keep a straight face when he saw the dumbfounded look on Lily's face.

Lily gathered her wits and responded with, "Only a dozen, I was thinking more along the lines of two dozen. Heaven knows we'll have the room." James nearly fell over at this statement. "What is wrong, James, can't take a little joke?" Lily teased him. She laughed as the color rushed back into James' face as he realized that she had been teasing him.

James shook his head to clear it. "You are good, Lily; you really had me going there for a few seconds," he told her. "Seriously now, the next Hogsmead weekend is in two days. I suppose that I should ask you even though we are dating. So, Lily, will you go to Hogsmead with me?"

"Well, I sort of have plans with my other boyfriend, but maybe I can rearrange them," Lily teased. James took the news like a man; he just rolled his eyes at her.

In 1967 the village of Hogsmead had put large warning bells near every building. The idea was that if one place was under attack they could ring the bell to summon aid from the rest of the village.

Headmaster Dumbledore had liked the idea. He had decided that with the growing threat of Death Eater attacks, the school should be linked to the system. He felt that the school could aid in the defense of the village and the village could help defend the school. A bell was erected on the school grounds. Dumbledore had put certain charms in place to allow the village bells to be heard on the school grounds and vice versa.

N.E.W.T. level students would be allowed to participate in a special defense program. There was a strict application process to be allowed in the program. These students were shown many of the school's defenses and how to cast some of the charms. They were trained to aid the villagers during attacks and to defend the school should anyone ever be brave enough to attempt to attack it. The selected students were shown certain apparation points in the school. Knowing the spots was only part of it, Dumbledore taught them a very complicated spell that had to be performed before they could apparate. These places students and faculty could apparate from but no one was able to apparate to them. Once a student or professor apparated away from the school they could not apparate back. The closest that anyone could apparate was just outside the front gates. To be let back in a message had to be sent to Dumbledore or the Deputy Headmaster.

In 1977, the system had not been used since its inception. Many of the villagers knew that it was only a matter of time. Lord Voldemort had been secretly growing stronger for the last ten years. They still hoped that he would be defeated. Professor Dumbledore seemed to be the only one that he was scared of. Many people were starting to question if Dumbledore wasn't also afraid of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Dumbledore rarely left Hogwarts, and he had turned down many offices in the ministry. It made the villagers wonder if he would even come to their aid if they called for him. They were about to get their answer.

Author's Note: Don't Kill me!! Please review. Thank you!


	12. Chapter 11 Alarms

Author: Laurahonest

Chapter 11: Alarms

Post Date: 9-20-2007

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any thing related to Harry Potter, that honor belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers, not me.

Author's Note: Thank Bluejello for editing this, without her you would have to put up with my horrible grammar. Sorry that this has taken so long, I am getting busier with my baby, he is 10 months old now and very busy. I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner, but don't hold your breath.

The Saturday after Valentine's Day was a gorgeous day that made a person think of spring. The sun was shining brightly and the snow was dripping off of the trees as it melted. It was a wonderful day for a walk.

James and Lily were on their way to Hogsmead. They were walking along hand in hand, just enjoying the nice day and the time alone. They arrived in the village and wandered from shop to shop for awhile. They purchased everything that they needed and a few things that they didn't, especially in Zonko's Joke Shop. After a while they met up with some of their friends and decided to go find some lunch.

Early in the afternoon, while most of the students were still in the village, the sky started to cloud up and it got very dark rather quickly. James and Lily were sitting in the Three Broomsticks with Frank and Alice when they noticed the dark. They looked at each other and got up to go check it out. Madam Rosemerta hustled about the pub, lighting lamps and candles. They couldn't see anything from the door so they stepped outside into the gloom. There was a loud popping noise and suddenly a darkly robed figure stood in front of them. He had his back to them and didn't notice them right away. Lily got over her shock at almost being apparated on and looked around. A masked figure in dark robes stood in front of every shop and blocking every alley, they were all looking towards the bell tower. The students and other shoppers were trapped. As one, the four of them silently moved around the corner and out of sight. A second wave of Death Eaters apparated in with their backs to the first ones; now no one could get out of the buildings. James leaned in and whispered in Lily's ear. She nodded to show that she understood his plan and waited for him to fill in the others. When everyone was ready, they moved.

James and Frank sprang forward and attacked the robed figures in front of them. Lily ran towards the closest warning bell. James and one of the Death Eaters wrestled on the ground while Frank attacked the other one. Alice ducked back around the corner and into the pub to warn the people inside. Lily was almost to the bell when another figure appeared in front of her. She knew this person. It was the same evil man who had tried to kill her and her friends over Christmas break. The Death Eater that Frank was fighting apparated away when Frank tried to remove his mask. Frank turned to face Voldemort with Lily. James knocked his Death Eater's mask off and immobilized him. He vaguely recognized him, but he didn't pause to verify his identity. James ran to Lily's side. Together the three of them stood and faced Lord Voldemort.

"Hello, Tom," James greeted their enemy.

"Why, if it isn't Mr. Potter," Voldemort replied. "I was hoping that you would be here," he said. "It saves me the trouble of tracking you down later. You see, dear James, I am going to eliminate you today. I am going to destroy the Potter family. You are first." Voldemort flicked his wand and James lay on the ground bound and gagged.

Lily performed a silent charm and loosened his robes so that he could wriggle free.

Voldemort turned to her and started talking. "My dear mudblood, I would have let you alone if only you had stayed away from Hogwarts, but since you have decided that you are worthy to study magic like a pureblood, I have no choice but to destroy you as well." Voldemort tried to bind her as well but she evaded his spell. "You really are a clever girl aren't you" he praised her, "but it won't help you in the end." With those words he sent a _Crucio _spell towards her.

Lily dodged, but not fast enough; the tail of the spell hit her and she fell in pain. Frank tried to help her but Voldemort flicked his wand again and Frank was unable to move. Voldemort stood over Lily and laughed as he watched her suffer. With his focus on Lily he didn't notice that James and gotten loose and was ready to attack.

James leapt up out of his ropes and jumped on Voldemort's back. This took the dark wizard completely by surprise. They were wizards after all. They were supposed to use magic to solve their problems, not physical violence like those muggle animals. Once he got over the shock of a physical attack, he fought back. It felt good! The blood was pumping through his veins and the adrenaline was surging. Voldemort almost felt human again.

Lily fought off the effects of the curse enough to perform the counter-curse and free herself of the pain. She tried to stand up, but the curse had left her legs too weak to support her. Lily ran through the spells that she knew, trying to think of one that she could use from where she lay to ring the bell. She decided on the _Wingardium Leviosa_ charm to try and make the clapper float and swing it back and forth into the sides of the bell. Lily knew that she only had one chance to make it work, if anyone figured out what she was trying to do, well, she didn't want think about that. She calmed her thoughts, checked to see that James was still causing a stir, and readied herself for the attempt. Lily silently performed the spell. It worked; she had control of the clapper. She started swinging it from side to side. When Lily had it moving really well, she flicked her wand a little bit harder and was rewarded by a loud, rich peal from the bell. She released the spell and the bell kept ringing as she collapsed back into the snow.

Voldemort didn't seem to hear the bell at first. He continued his struggle with James as if he was just another schoolboy and they were scuffing after classes.

James, however, heard the bell and knew that he had help coming. He tried to keep Voldemort busy. James knew that if he could keep him preoccupied, there was a better chance of capturing him.

Within seconds of the bell's first peal people had apparated in from other parts of the village and the surrounding countryside. A few seconds after that, Dumbledore had arrived from Hogwarts, along with most of his staff and the trained students.

Voldemort finally heard the bell as Dumbledore arrived. As soon as he heard the ringing, Voldemort knew that it was over. He continued to struggle with James. Voldemort was trying desperately to keep them off balance long enough to apparate away from the village all other thought was gone from his mind. He knew that he had failed when he felt his limbs freeze. Dumbledore had cast the charm over both of the fighters. He should have known that Dumbledore would not hesitate to immobilize a student if necessary. Voldemort himself had been immobilized by the old man while a student at Hogwarts. Yes, the old man preferred talking things out, but he was not afraid of action when necessary.

Dumbledore released James from the spell. Madame Pomfrey rushed to his side and started tending to his bruises. James tried to push her away to go check on Lily.

"Lily is fine, James," Professor Dumbledore reassured him before he could ask. "You hold still or Madame Pomfrey will immobilize you again." James fell quietly back into the snow.

Ministry officials apparated to Hogsmead within minutes to see why the alarms had gone off. The Aurors had been ordered down, but no one knew who the order had originated from. As soon as the officials knew what they were dealing with, the Auror's were called in to take custody of the prisoners. Voldemort and all of the captured Death Eaters were taken to Azkaban prison and put under the guard of the Dementors.

By the end of the next week, every student had heard how James had wrestled **He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named **to the ground with his bare hands. James was an even bigger hero to the students.

Friday morning, James and Lily were eating breakfast when the mail arrived. Lily paid the owl that delivered her newspaper and unfolded it. The first page headlines made her gasp.

"What is it?" James asked.

Lily moved the paper so that he could read it too. Neither of them spoke as they read the whole article.

_Last night the majority of the Aurors were called away from Azkaban prison due to reports of Dark Mark sightings all over the country. These calls continued to come in until only one auror was left to guard the prison with the dementors. Many people, including Albus Dumbledore, have questioned the wisdom of allowing creatures of such questionable repute to be placed as __guards__ over our nation's most wanted wizards. It appears that they were correct in their doubts. The dementors have abandoned their posts and joined the Dark Lord and his Death __Eaters. The lone auror was kissed by the dementors and all of the prisoners were released by them. This is the beginning of the end for __the Magical World._

James and Lily looked at each other. Without speaking a word, they both looked towards the head table. Dumbledore was there, but he looked very concerned. James and Lily picked at their food and waited for the meal to be over. They wanted to speak with Professor Dumbledore about the paper.

When everyone had finished eating, Professor Dumbledore stood up and addressed the students. "I would like to see the Head Boy and Girl and all of the Prefects in my office in ten minutes time. All other students are to return to their common rooms and stay there until your head of house comes to see you."

James and Lily looked at each other and their concern grew. They ran up to their dorms to get ready for the day and then went straight to Professor Dumbledore's office with the Gryffindor prefects. As soon as the prefects from the other houses arrived, Professor Dumbledore began the meeting.

"Some of you," he began as looked each of them in the eye, "may be aware of what I am about to tell you and to others this may come as a complete shock. Sometime last night the Dementors defected and they released Voldemort and his Death Eaters. We have lost control of our prisons and the dementors are roaming the countryside. Several new rules are now in effect and it is up to you to help the teachers enforce them. No student is to be alone outside of the common room and dormitories. Quidditch practices will be overseen by Madame Hooch. Professors will escort students to and from classes. No students will be allowed out of their dormitories after dinner is over. You prefects will do your rounds with another prefect of your year. Anything out of the ordinary will be reported to a professor immediately. All student disagreements and altercations will be sent to their head of house. Any student out after curfew will be reported to their head of house immediately. Do you all understand these new rules?"

One of the Hufflepuff prefects asked, "Are we allowed out of the dormitories to perform rounds after dinner?"

"You are allowed out to perform your duties" he answered her. "These rules are only temporary. I have made Voldemort very angry and I am enforcing these rules to protect students from becoming his pawns in an effort to get to me." No one else raised any questions. "If that is all, you may leave. James, Lily please remain a moment longer." The prefects got up and left the office. James and Lily held hands and looked at him. "I believe that he is also very upset with you two right now. You foiled his plans and got him captured. I want you two to stay together or with another person at all times. You are very capable and I am sure that you will be fine, you have held your own against him twice now, but please don't take any foolish chances."

"We will be careful, sir," Lily assured him. "I personally have seen enough of him to last me a while. We won't go looking for trouble."

"Yes, sir, we will behave," James agreed with Lily. "No trouble seeking for us!"

"Good, I am glad to hear it," Dumbledore smiled at them. "Now you two get going, classes will be starting soon, and please pass this message on to Frank and Alice. I believe they are also in danger from Mister Riddle."

"Sir?" James began with a questioning look.

"You are wondering why I do not tell them myself?" Dumbledore asked. At James' nod, he continued. "I will speak to them personally, but at the moment they are in doing a special project for Professor McGonagall. It seems they were in the Astronomy tower doing 'homework' past midnight last night. So if you will pass them the message and these notes inviting them here to discuss the matter further, then you may leave."

"Thank you, sir," Lily replied as she picked up one of the notes. "Good-bye."

"Good-bye," echoed James, as he too reached for a note and turned to go.

"Good-bye," replied Dumbledore.

After James closed the door behind them he turned to Lily and started to discuss what they had just been told. "Do you really think Voldemort will come after us?" he asked Lily.

Lily looked a little whiter than normal when she replied. "Yes, I believe he will. We have gotten in his way twice now and that is sure to make him angry. He seems to want you dead even more than me, though. Remember what he said about your family? Now, I have stood by you and fought him too, that is bound to have made him really angry."

"What about Frank and Alice? Surely he isn't mad at them too?" James asked, seeming to grasp at straws.

"You know Frank's mom is standing with your parents on this one. She refused to join him too," Lily replied with a worried look.

"Oh God, you're right Lily. Frank and Alice should be down with their project now, let's go find them and give them Dumbledore's message right now!" James said in a worried tone.

Lily didn't argue, so they ran off to find Frank and Alice as quickly as possible. Half an hour later, they still had not found them. They passed a set of lavatories on the second floor and James suggested checking inside them. James ran into the boys and Lily checked the girls. When they came out of the empty rooms, James said "We haven't checked the Great Hall, maybe they're eating a late breakfast." So they headed off to the Great Hall and when they got there Frank and Alice were sitting alone at the Gryffindor table, hurriedly eating breakfast. Sighing in relief, James and Lily walked over and handed them their notes and told them what Dumbledore had said.

"Well, it's a good thing that we're all taking the same classes," said Alice, "we can stick together in between them."

"Yes," said Lily, "that way we are never alone, even in the dormitories and lavatories."

"We should go, here comes Professor Kettleburn and you know how he is about late students, even though it isn't his class we will be late for," James urged. The four of them got up and headed down to the dungeons for Potions.


End file.
